Saving...Who are our courses suitable for, and do I need a qualification in order to enrol?
Currently we provide two courses related to Strengths in Positive Psychology. Our first course, Personal Strengths for Daily Living and Working has been designed for anyone who wants to learn about Character Strengths and how they exhibit and impact in their own lives. There is no specific entry criteria to enrol for this course as it can be utilised as both a personal development course or as the first part of our Professional Development program.
Our second course Strengths Mastery has been developed for professionals and people who are directly involved in human development work. This course will be suitable for professionals such as Coaches, Health Care Professionals, Educators, Leaders, Consultants and others involved in working with others towards flourishing. It is a requirement for this course that people provide documentation showing that they are currently engaged or qualified to work with people at this level before enrolment. Please contact us by email with any queries about entry criteria.
How is the Strengths for Daily Living and Working course structured?
The Strengths for Daily Living and Working is a 24 week course via telephone link up. Each class is one hour in length and facilitated by one of our trained CFCE instructors. Our class space is an interactive learning environment where you will be invited to explore your strengths through reflection, discussion and exercises. Other students from around the world will join you on the call to share their learning and experiences of strength work, and you will be given the opportunity to meet people from many different walks of life.
How is the Strengths Mastery course structured?
This course will be 12 x 1 hour sessions. Based on case-studies and current interventions, students will have access to relevant research, books and current theory. The class will be a combination of lectures, group discussions and reflections. For certification purposes, you will be required to submit a written case study featuring one of your clients utilizing Strengths interventions as the major process.
What resources will I need to support me throughout the course?
You will require a telephone line or Skype access to dial into a teleconference line in Austin, Texas, USA (Area Code 512). Calling cards are workable, however the quality is not always good and may cause interference on the call for are participants. With Skype it is best to have a fast connection or you may have delay or drop-outs.
Students will need to have a computer with a good quality, reliable internet connection. As most classes will be phone in you may also require a telephone line or similar. It is possible to use Skype for your teleclasses each week. If you have any website or other technical inquiries, please contact Glenn Hall by emailwho will be pleased to assist.
We will also provide a list of recommended articles and books on our website for each class however it is not a necessity to purchase every book or read every article in order to complete the course. Our aim in providing references is to broaden your knowledge of each strength if you choose to do so. As described in the next section our emphasis is on an individuals completing reflection exercises to learn how strengths show up in their life.
Please explain the assessment criteria in order to gain my certificate?
Students will be sent a module related to each class and that they are expected to read prior to the class. On completion of each class you will be requested to complete an exercise and reflection on the given strength that was the focus for that particular session. It is expected that students will gain the greatest degree of learning from completing these exercises and therefore high emphasis is placed on ensuring that you complete the homework provided. We will provide you with a workbook at the beginning of the course that needs to be completed in full and sent to us at the completion of the course. Once this workbook has been assessed by us and you can provide evidence that you have attended all classes we will present you with a certificate of completion.
Are the courses accredited and with whom?
Currently our Strengths for Daily Living and Working course is accredited by the International Coaching Federation. We are also in the process of obtaining accreditation through the American Psychological Society and the Australian Psychological Association. In order to complete the course for the purpose of accreditation in your field of choice you will be required to pay an extra USD$25. If you would like to contact us regarding accreditation within your own profession we would gladly receive any suggestions from you.
What makes our courses exceptional?
Our instructors come from multiple backgrounds with coaching skills in common…we have the ability to coach and teach on our calls. We are highly experienced professionals with a passion for the content we have built. There are other courses out there on Strengths Development, however our courses cover a wider variety of research and relevance. Our courses are created to give you something different. We take valid research and literature from a variety of fields, and add coaching so that you can implement and use what others just talk about. We have joined theory to practice!
- We are also academics who understand that bridging the gap between research and practice or theory and implementation is the only way to move people into action
- Prior to teaching the course we have moved through the self reflection exercises just as the students have, to investigate our own strengths and give you workable interventions
- We offer reflective tools for learning to our students which are more empowering for them when they do all the work. These tools provide ongoing reflection outside of the class environment…process is continual learning
- Our Strengths courses intend to support ‘implementation and reflection’ as the central learning techniques
- We teach from a place that supports the learner as responsible for their own learning (self directed). This shifts the balance of who holds the knowledge and power in the classroom.
- Our interactive learning space offers flexibility and accessibility, with times and options to accommodate busy people.
- We have chosen the telephone conference format to accomodate people in countries where other communication technologies may be less stable.
- We encourage students to step into strengths from the moment they start the learning process with us..ie -bravery- speaking up in calls, -self regulation- doing the homework, -curiosity- & -creativity- trying their own interventions at home.
- Inherently we support people to move into their creative potential.
- We offer a more comprehensive overview of each separate strength in our class….one hour per each strength which is significantly more than is offered currently anywhere else.
- Our course is based on the mix of research/implementation/creative thought
- We encourage you to acknowledge your strengths. ‘What is right with you’ always underpins what we teach
- We take strength work to the next level through examining the reality that lower strengths and weaknesses are an equally important part of us…its how we look and work with these that matters
- We acknowledge that sometimes overplay/underplay of strengths can be as challenging or even hinder our development and seek interventions to support others around these.
- Our course offers our students unlimited access to our website, membership and course resources.
- During the course our students are supported by their teachers and can access us through email or on the calls
- We offer the option of grow into your strengths coaching for those who want to maximise their own strength development
- We are aware that there are those like us who want to support and teach others to discover their strengths and so we offer a mastery course which caters for this population of students/teachers.
How much do the courses cost and how can I pay for them?
Our first course Personal Strengths for Daily Living and Working (24 teleclasses plus 2 hour introduction course) will be US$795.00. This is a one off special price for December – February 2011 for our founding students. We choose to use Pay Pal for course payments as this is globally accessible. Payment options for those who require it are also available under certain circumstances.
SPECIAL DEAL: Both courses: US$1400.00 if paid in full by the commencement of first Personal Strengths course on March 15, 2011.
Is there a refund if I pay for the course and then change my mind half way through?
There is a no refund policy because we believe this course, compared to others is exceptional value. However, if you pay and choose not to attend the course prior to it’s commencement we are happy to negotiate a refund, less administration costs of 5%.
